Ukraine is eager to join the European Union (EU) as it seeks to break ties with Russia and forge closer alliances with the West. To gain access to the EU, Ukraine needs the consent of all 27 member states.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico affirmed on April 11 that his country would not obstruct Kyiv's accession to the EU. Fico made this statement during a press conference with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal in Michalovce, eastern Slovakia.
Elected last September on a populist, Ukraine-skeptic platform, Prime Minister Fico ended arms supplies to Kyiv from Slovakia's military stockpiles and has repeatedly criticized both defense aid to Ukraine and sanctions against Russia.
But Fico also said that he was not against Ukraine becoming an EU member if Kyiv met all the criteria for membership.
“This is not speculation. This is absolute support,” Mr. Fico said. “We are not a country that will hinder you. On the contrary, we want to help and share our experience with you.”
Regarding EU accession negotiations, Bratislava wants Kyiv to become a member of the EU "quickly," "as this guarantees the prospects and peaceful development of Ukraine," the Slovak Prime Minister said.
The leader also stated that Slovakia is ready to cooperate militarily with Ukraine on a commercial basis and offered assistance in demining efforts.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico in Michalovce, Slovakia, on April 11, 2024. Photo: Ukrainska Pravda
Ukraine applied to join the EU in 2022, just weeks after Russia launched a military operation in the Eastern European country.
At the Council of Europe summit last December, European leaders agreed to open membership talks with Kyiv.
In mid-March this year, the European Commission (EC) proposed a draft framework for membership negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova, another candidate also seeking to join the bloc.
Kyiv believes that talks on its accession to the EU could begin in the first half of 2024, Ukrainian Prime Minister Shmyhal said while speaking alongside Slovak Prime Minister Fico.
Ukraine is eager to join the EU as it seeks to break ties with Russia and forge closer alliances with the West. To gain access to the EU, Ukraine needs the consent of all 27 member states.
However, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban did not share the same view as his Slovak counterpart. At the Hungarian Prime Minister's annual press conference in Budapest at the end of December last year, Orban stated that his opposition to Ukraine joining the EU stemmed from a desire to help the country through more immediate measures.
"If we want to help Ukraine, we should offer something tangible," Orban said, explaining that EU membership is unrealistic as the process would take years, especially while Ukraine is still embroiled in conflict.
The Hungarian populist leader asserted that, instead, a “strategic partnership” between the EU and Ukraine would yield “immediate” results and provide “the most important benefits for Ukrainians and support them in that way.”
He called the start of accession talks "a nice political gesture but one that does nothing to help Ukrainians in reality . "
Minh Duc (According to Kyiv Independent, Balkan Insight)
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